What happened
The incident occurred during a nighttime descent under conditions of poor visibility. As the four-engine aircraft executed its final approach, it was flying at an altitude that was too low for the terrain ahead. The plane struck the roof of a house before ultimately crashing into other residential buildings located short of the runway threshold.
The impact resulted in the deaths of all 20 occupants on board the aircraft. Additionally, five people on the ground were killed when the wreckage hit the houses. The crew did not realize their altitude was insufficient due to the low visibility conditions at the time of the accident.
Findings
The primary contributing factor identified was the lack of awareness regarding the aircraft's altitude relative to the terrain. This failure in situational awareness was directly attributed to the low visibility conditions that prevented the crew from recognizing they were flying too low during the final approach phase.